Multi-disciplinarian artist, photographer and creator of the “Blood Roses” gothic vampire comic series Melissa K. Smith has a new show featuring her ethereal landscapes and figurative wolf-inspired acrylic paintings at the beautiful Blow Salon in Berkeley. The opening reception for the group “Spring Art Show” is Saturday, April 19th at 8pm and will feature local artists including Kate Ingram, James Foley, Emily Cadagan and Becca Jones Starr. As an active member of the diverse arts communities of the East Bay, Melissa engages a variety of subjects using different media, mediums and techniques. Painter, inker, actress, producer – artist and dreamer, she’s an avid traveler in “the everywhere” as she incorporates the new and the ancient, traditional myths, legends and alternative perspectives into her work. She is also an avid animal rights advocate and volunteers for Never Cry Wolf Rescue & Adoptions in Roseville, California as a wolf handler and educator. Fond of midnight excursions over daylight company, happenstance to planned routines, you’ll find her creating art and making places for conversations and query as a point of departure and discovery. Melissa’s work reveals a tireless exploration of the nether-spaces in color and form where she prepares layered, complex compositions that are at once inviting, sometimes challenging, ultimately beckoning the viewer to illusory places between the thoughts of the artist and the destinations of the viewer. These structured juxtapositions of concrete space and imagined space tell us that the subjects of her worlds are like us in their intimate pursuits of harmonic significance in the boundaries and escape ship plans of our lives. This examination of the conflict inherent in indeterminable spaces is the foundation upon which Melissa completed two consecutive undergraduate degrees before advanced graduate work at JFK University in Berkeley where she studied transformative arts and consciousness. After additional studio work, then teaching technique and form in the Bay Area, she spent the summer traveling to Italy where she taught Italian students in Lucca during the day and venturing to Rome and Florence at night. These travels culminated in a Master’s Degree with special interest in acrylic painting and conceptualized “found object” formulations. Melissa draws on a lifetime of artful pursuits, formal education and experimentation with painting, pen & ink, charcoal, Conte, photography, illustrations, comic books, printing and film & video (see Melissa’s films and projects on IMDB). With a long list of private and public shows, gallery showings, intimate cafes, lounges, funky studios – her work can be found throughout the West Coast, Canada, Italy and New York. As an active member of Never Cry Wolf Rescue & Adoptions she conducts outreach and education through out Northern California and uses her experiences as the basis for an ongoing wolf-inspired series of paintings. In addition, she shoots video and photographs for their online website along with promotions and publicity. Her painting “Dreaming Of The Wild” was selected by the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, a non-profit organization based in Flagstaff, Arizona to be in their gallery show to promote positive wolf awareness. Her acrylic painting “No Woman’s Land” was chosen by jury selection for the Arts & Consciousness Alumni Exhibition at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, California for the exhibition “Art as Liminal Space: Threshold of Transformation”. Her painting “Honey Hunter” was included in San Francisco’s Central City Hospitality House’s Community Arts Program exhibit “Honeycomb 2012″. Additional articles about Melissa K. Smith:Melissa K. Smith’s New Gallery Show: Threshold of TransformationMelissa K. Smith – Artist, Dreamer, AdventuristMelissa K. Smith: Honey Hunter: Photo-mâché: Imagist & Multidisciplinarian

Blow Salon provides professional, creative hair styling, cutting and coloring services which express the individuality and style of each of our clients. Our intimate salon atmosphere and attentive staff combine to create a comfortable setting for your hair styling experience. On our walls you will see art by local artists which rotates several times a year, providing the salon with creative flair and inspiration. “We are a Barber Shop for Girls* * and Grrlz, Bois, Boys, Ladies, Queers, Guys, Men, Freaks, Kinksters and Weirdos! And we do every head of hair to look sexy on a pillow.” Blow Salon is a full service salon and artist hang located in the heart of Berkeley

Meet the artists: Emily Cadigan, James Foley, Kate Ingram Becca Jones-Starr, and Melissa K Smith! Plus great nibbles by the great Habib Cutolo, Brew by Triple Rock and wine donation by the owner of Kingfish, Sara and Emil (you guys are awesome). So bring your cute self, maybe a friends or three… eat, drink and enjoy some new art for your Spring.

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About rorydean

Rory Dean is a multi-medium artist, writer and new media strategist with a background as a creative consultant and technology liaison in the San Francisco Bay Area. His broad experiences and specialties include print-to-web publicity, promotions and design marketing using traditional and social media networks. As a motion pictures and television professional, his short films, productions and commercials have screened to domestic and international audiences. His connections to a diverse client base include artists, entertainers, corporations, non-profits and everyday people..
Dean is co-owner and founder of Dissave Pictures, a boutique production company focusing on audio, video, photography and multi-media designs. Dean's personal and professional background includes dreaming and avid notebook journaling, creative and copy writing, promotions and marketing, audio/video production, photography, videography, editing, web design and new media. He’s also a fan of collaboration and knows when to turn the reigns over, offer feedback, lead the team and step aside. His portfolio includes print, online, film, video, photography, graphic design and promotions. He’ll show you. He has a book and everything.
"When not juggling various online worlds, I do a pretty good mime – but that’s another story."

MELISSA….Oh my gosh….I am so excited for you and proud of you my sister..Such an incredible talent in a myriad of fantastic and magical ways..Paint draw write photo film….This Blowout vernissage will be so wonderful…I wish I could be there. I re-posted this article by Rory once more this morning on my wall.I was out of town working for two days and got it last night…I love you two very much for the countless inspirations and love you both share with me…Jim

Thanks for the visit and kind thoughts Jim. Life has taken some precarious turns as of late, paths imagined and others less considered but nevertheless welcome in light of the last couple of moons scattered by adversity and trial. C’est la vie. Such is the artist’s life. Melissa’s work is both inspirational and healing, a series of journeys taken and discovered in ethereal places. The show was a great way to start out the year and prepare for many more happenings to come. Thank you for supporting us, for your kindness and friendship over the years. I send you always the best. I hope you and safe and well in your artful dalliances.